Review

Zolinsko-Arkiinskaya area (863.37 km2) is located in Gazimuro-Zavodskoy and Alexandrovo-Zavodskoy Districts of Zabaikalie Territory. The company holds the ChIT 01892 BE mining license - valid through 31.12.2032 - for geological survey, exploration and production of vein and placer gold, lead, zinc, antimony and associated components. At this stage of the project, the company performs search, estimation and exploration of ore gold deposits.

The company holds a number of mining licenses for geological study, exploration and production within the Zolinsko-Arkiinskaya area: Bystrinskoye, Novo-Shirokinskoye, Lugiinskoye, Bystrinsko-Shirinskoye and Solonechnoye deposits. Most of the licenses are for the development of placer gold deposits. All such properties have been excluded from the licensed territories of Zolinsko-Arkiinskaya area.

On the west of the area, district center Gaz-Zavod and Novo-Shirokinsky settlement are located, both connected to the region center via the improved earth road. On the rest of the territory, several villages are located, and field and wood-transport roads are available.

The Zolinsko-Arkiinskaya area contains various deposits, manifestations and points of mineralization of various industrial types. Ore deposits contain metals and nonmetal minerals. Iron, copper, lead, zinc and molybdenum are metals present in the form of deposits or manifestations. Nonmetal minerals include fluorite, boric anhydride (complex deposits), talc, phosphate rock and industrial materials. Most of the deposits and manifestations either belong to hydrothermal group, or are ore-bearing skarns.

With regard to the scale of manifestation and concentration of mineralization, the hydrothermal group is mostly represented by gold-polymetallic mineralization of Novo-Shirokinsky type, contained mostly within the Shirokinsky ore cluster. This type mineralization is characterized by its being associated, as adjacent rocks, with volcanic rock formations, and connected with the Middle Jurassic magmatism. The galenite-sphalerite type, associated with Paleozoic sedimentation carbonate rocks (aka Priargunsky type), and the low-temperature sulphosalt-galenite-sphalerite ores mainly contained in silicate rocks, are represented in a lesser degree.

With regard to ore element associations, the ore-bearing skarns are divided into iron-ore and polymetallic ones, the former being represented by iron ores, and the latter forming iron associations with late molybdenum, copper, gold, tungsten and boron minerals.

Based on the structural and geological, and minerogenic analysis, the following detailed properties were preliminarily identified within the Zolinsko-Arkiinskaya area: Kochkovsky, Arkiinsky, Zona Yuzhnaya, Yakovlevsky and Shirinsky.

Kochkovsky property

The property is located at the divide of Lugiya, Uryumkan and Zhitkovskaya rivers, to the north of Novo-Shirokinsky mine. The property area is 26.9 km2.

The Kochkovsky property belongs to Shirokinsky gold-polymetallic ore cluster which is known to contain a small deposit, two ore manifestations and two points of mineralization.

The Kochkovsky property’s ores are moderate-sulfide ores of low-temperature gold-arsenic formation. Given the lack of oxidation zone, just one natural ore type – primary gold ores - is present. Gold grains contained at the deposit are small, max 0.06 mm, and were not found in intergrowth with sulfides.

Arkiinsky property

Rock alteration within the property is either contact (skarnification) or hydrothermal (silification, carbonization, pyritization, etc.) one. Skarnification zones are well presented in Undinsk granatoids’ exo-contacts with carbonate rocks, are identified at a considerable distance from the contacts, and extended along the strike and in depth. The skarns contain silicate, amphibole-pyroxene-epidote-garnet with carbonate, pyrite, pirrhotine and magnetite. The most frequent hydrothermal processes is carbonatization cementing fractured zones. In addition, the quartz-carbonate vein rock contains manifestations of sulfide mineralization.

With regard to the mineral content, the Arkiinskoye small deposit is a low-sulfidation gold-sulfide-quartz formation.

Zona Yuzhnaya property

The property is adjacent to Bystrinskoye deposit on the north-east and contains two ore manifestations and one point of gold mineralization. The property’s area is 15.6 km2.

The ores are of gold-sulfide formation. The hydrothermal alterations include carbonatization, pocket-veinlet silicification, and in a lesser degree, chloritization, kaolinisation and pyritization. Major ore minerals are: pyrite, arsenopyrite, in a lesser degree are found: chalcopyrite, galenite, sphalerite and fahlite.

Shirinsky property

The Shirinsky property (6.9 km2) is located at the upper Shira creek valley, the left-bank tributary of the Urov river. The property is known to contain the Shirinskoye lead deposit, a point of gold mineralization, a phosphorus manifestation, and placer gold.